Health technology assessment (HTA) plays a key role in market access for medical technologies in England. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the primary HTA body responsible for evaluating diagnostics, devices, and digital tools. In July 2025, NICE integrated three of its technology-specific programs - the Diagnostics Assessment Programme (DAP), Interventional Procedures, and Medical Technologies - into a single HealthTech Program. This unified structure reflects a lifecycle-based approach to evaluation, while the methodological principles from DAP continue to guide current assessments.
The HealthTech Programme provides four types of recommendations for non-medicine technologies: routine use, use during evidence generation, more research needed, or not recommended. These categories reflect the strength of the evidence and its implications for clinical benefit and value for money in the NHS.
This white paper reviews five assessments of non-IVD diagnostic technologies conducted under the former DAP framework. Despite procedural changes, the case studies offer enduring insights into NICE’s evidence expectations and key factors influencing recommendation outcomes. These findings can help inform evidence generation strategies and support market access planning for similar technologies under the current HealthTech framework.
Request White Paper
Request an analytical White Paper to gain strategic insights into NICE’s evidence expectations and market access for non-IVD tests